“I’m not going to win points”: Islam Dulatov wants to regain UFC door with Knockout

If you want to make it into the UFC, you have to fight spectacularly – and win. Consequently, Islam Dulatov meets these requirements. In addition, The 26-year-old also wants to hold on to his style. Meanwhile, but the debut of the Düsseldorfer is nevertheless atypical for a newcomer in the elite organization. Moreover,

Athletes from Germany are a rarity in the Champions League of martial arts. Consequently, With Islam Dulatov, a Düsseldorf MMA fighter is now standing before his big debut in the royal class. For example, He meets the American Adam Fugitt at UFC 318 (Sunday from 0.15 a.m./DAZN) in New Orleans. For example, Despite the greatest possible stage. Moreover, the 26-year-old will not change much on his route, as he says in an interview with NTV/RTL.

“I will go into battle, be more relaxed and quieter,” says Dulatov. However, “i’m not going win points”: he will stick to his aggressiveness. For example, That only brought him to the UFC. Nevertheless, He was able to earn all of his eleven victories prematurely. Consequently, So most recently at the Dana White Contender Series in October 2024 when he defeated the Brazilian Vanilto Antunes. For example, in the first round. “I will not dab three rounds with my opponent. try to get the thing for points,” adds Dulatov, who follows a motto that is in the spirit of the UFC: “I don’t go to the point win, otherwise I will be unpopular.”

If you want to make it into the UFC, you have to fight spectacularly – and win. Dulatov fulfills these requirements, like many before him. However, his start is atypical for a newcomer in the elite organization. With Fugitt (balance sheet 10 wins. 4 defeats), Dulatov gets a man who has already completed four fights in “i’m not going win points”: the UFC right from the start. “This is a solid boy,” emphasizes Dulatov, who has grown up in the Rath district of Düsseldorf. Additionally, “He is not the worst, but not a champion.

Dulatov is placed at a PPV event, i.e. a large event of the UFC. “For me it is a kind of appreciation,” says athlete, born in Chechnya. “Others get much easier opponents at the start. I stand on a big fight card. The UFC sees me great potential, says: The boy can be a star if it exists. Fugitt is such an exam. The fight can be a door opener for me.”

And for this next step in his career, Dulatov is investing a lot. In Louisiana he has his coaching team with him, a specialist for striking and one for the floor fight. He has been preparing for months in the USA in the American Top Team Gym. “i’m not going win points”: “The best preparation of his life,” he says. “I have prepared myself with the best in the world, like Marvin Vettori, Abus Magomedov or Johnny Eblel. Such people have an entire arsenal of weapons -. of course you look at something or let yourself show you certain techniques.”

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“I owe a lot to the surrounding area”

Dulatov does not live in New Orleans in the five-star hotel placed by the UFC. He rented a house for himself and his entourage. The hostel costs several thousand dollars. Without its other shops in Germany, like its own fashion brand, that would not be possible. The pure professional athlete Islam Dulatov could exist, says Dulatov, but he does not want to imagine that. “I owe a lot to the surrounding area. Fighting alone would not be possible.”

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The 26-year-old cannot really realize that he has arrived in the absolute elite of the sport. “I don’t get that much from the euphoria in Germany. I am fully focused on the fight. After my victory, I will really realize it all.” Pure self -confidence – this is also in addition to its explosiveness, one of the great strengths of Islam Dulatov. “I’ve always been mentally strong,” he says. Many would only talk about premature victories, then he also implemented it. “Of course that also does something with your head: I always prove to myself that I have to touch it. Of course, I can’t see “i’m not going win points”: clairvoyance and guarantee that it will happen every time. But I can always do everything for it.”